Until 2017, 13 Smelter Nickels have Operated

By : Herry Barus And Aldo Bella Putra | Thursday, December 28 2017 - 18:00 IWST

Ilustrasi Smelter
Ilustrasi Smelter

INDUSTRY.co.id - Jakarta - The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources noted that until October 2017 there are 13 nickel smelter facilities already in operation and produce various products such as NPI, FeNi and NiHidroxide.

Director General of Mineral and Coal Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Bambang Gatot Ariyono said on Wednesday (27/12/2017) that investment for the construction of domestic nickel refining facilities reached approximately US $ 5.03 billion or around Rp68 trillion.

"The nickel smelter investment is worth Rp68 trillion, ranging from Vale, Antam, Sulawesi Mining Investment, COR Industries Indonesia, etc. There are thirteen operating companies, these are in operation and nothing stops," Bambang Gatot told media crew at Office of the ESDM Ministry Jakarta, Wednesday.

There are also thirteen companies that have built nickel smelter PT Vale Indonesia, PT Aneka Tambang (Pomala), PT Fajar Bhakti Lintas Nusantara, PT Sulawesi Mining Investment, PT Gebe Industry Nickel, PT Megah Surya Pertiwi and PT COR Industri Indonesia.

Furthermore, there are Heng Tai Yuan, Century Metalindo, Indonesia Guang Ching Nickel and Stainless Steel, Virtu Dragon, PT Surya Saga Utama (Blackspace), and PT Bintang Timur Steel.

As of October 2017, thirteen operated nickel smelters produced 598,000 tonnes (FeNi and NPI) and 64 thousand tonnes of Ni-Matte, and were able to purify domestic nickel ore of 34 million ton.

Bambang added that during the last two years, there are two nickel smelters that stopped operating due to economic factors resulting from increased operating costs (cokes) and the weakening of mineral commodity prices in early 2017.

"The nickel purification facility that stops operating is Indoferro since July 19, 2017, and Cahaya Modern Metal Industri since January 2016 because the coke price increase reaches 300 US Dollar per ton," said Bambang.

The economic level in operating nickel smelting using "Blast Furnace" technology is strongly influenced by raw material prices, one of which is the coke which has a 40 percent share of the total production cost.

The main cause of the non-operation of smelters using the Blast Furnace technology is the rise in coke prices from an average of 100 US dollars / tonne in 2015 to 200-300 US dollars / tonne since late 2016.

This resulted in the cessation of production activities of PT Cahaya Modern Metal Industri, while PT Indoferro from the beginning was not in design to purify the nickel ore so that its economic level will be different from the initial design. Indoferro was originally designed to purify iron ore.

News Comment

Today's Industry

"CLEO", PT Sariguna Primatirta Tbk (Tanobel Group)

Sabtu, 23 September 2023 - 11:33 WIB

Growing Above Industrial Average, CLEO Strives for Innovation

Producer of bottled drinking water with the brand "CLEO", PT Sariguna Primatirta Tbk (Tanobel Group) targets its sales in 2023 to grow above the average of the bottled drinking water (AMDK)…

PT Inocycle Technology Group Tbk ("INOV")

Kamis, 14 September 2023 - 15:15 WIB

INOV Poised to Absorb PET Recycling Market Potential

The prospects of PT Inocycle Technology Group Tbk ("INOV") a public company in the field of recycling plastic (PET) bottle waste into Recycled Polyester Staple Fiber (Re-PSF), looks bright for…

Participants of the 43rd ASEAN Summit enjoy the gala dinner at Hutan Kota GBK in Jakarta, Wednesday (09/06). (Photo by: BPMI of Presidential Secretariat)

Senin, 11 September 2023 - 09:07 WIB

Indonesian Cuisine, Cultural Performances Enliven Gala Dinner of 43rd ASEAN Summit

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and First Lady Iriana Jokowi hosted a gala dinner for leaders of ASEAN member states, partners, and international organizations at Hutan Kota restaurant in…

President Jokowi and Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres, Jakarta, Thursday (09/07). (Photo by: BPMI).

Senin, 11 September 2023 - 07:45 WIB

ASEAN, UN to Enhance Cooperation in Maintaining Regional Peace

On the margin of the 43rd ASEAN Summit, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo Thursday (09/07) hosted Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres in a bilateral meeting at the Kakatua…

President Jokowi shakes hands with PM of Japan Fumio Kishida at JCC in Jakarta, Thursday (09/07). (Photo by: BPMI of Presidential Secretariat)

Senin, 11 September 2023 - 06:40 WIB

Indonesia, Japan Agree to Raise Partnership Status to Comprehensive Strategic

Indonesia and Japan have agreed to raise the partnership status of the two countries to strategic comprehensive, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has said.